


It's a trip!

by smile_it_will_get_better



Series: Ghost of you [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And she gets it too!, Dave lives because I said so, Happy Ending, I had to make it happy, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus is a good brother, M/M, Patch lives because I said so, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, allison is a good sister, and he gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-13 06:26:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18026474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smile_it_will_get_better/pseuds/smile_it_will_get_better
Summary: “Come with me.” He said, turning to look down at him. “We’ll never be free here. We can get out house but we would still have to hide all the time. And I don’t want to Dave. I want to show the world how lucky I am to have you. So come with me instead.”Klaus laughed, hope bubbling up inside his stomach.“We can take the briefcase and go back to 2019, we can be accepted there!” Klaus reached out, grabbing Dave’s hands. “Queer people still are pretty discriminated against, but we won’t be killed, shot or called criminals. We could get married, if that’s what we both want. We can get jobs, build a home, a family. Dave it could be perfect.”...Au where Dave comes home with Klaus before he can die and they go to the future to be happy. And they may stop the end of the world along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically a spin off from my other story 'The Ghost of You" but it isn't required. This story branches off from the chapter four, if you've read that story feel free to skip most of the first part of the story, start reading around "Is this a bad idea?" because that's when it starts to change. I split this into two parts because I wrote more than I meant to lmao

“Tell me about your home Klaus.” Dave asked, like he always did in moments like this. Klaus opened his mouth to change the topic like he always did. But this time he closed his mouth, taking a deep breath and smiling gently. 

“I was adopted.” He said quietly, feeling the way Dave stilled beside him as he realized Klaus was actually going to talk about it. “I have six siblings. My dad was a bit obsessed with adopting us all despite hating kids.” He said with a bitter laugh. 

“I lived in a mansion. My father was insane, a monster. Really just an all-around terrible guy really. But we survived, well almost.” Klaus looked up at Dave, who was watching him with sorrowful eyes. 

“Six siblings, but I was closest with my brother Ben. He’s dead now though but I could still see him. He didn’t come with me here though. Got lost in time somewhere. I’m sure when I go back he’ll be there to annoy me more.” Klaus said, swatting at a fly beside his head. Dave went unnaturally quiet, and Klaus looked over, surprised to see a sad look on his face. 

“You still want to go back.” Dave said quietly, and Klaus felt his heart break a little at the sad look on his face. 

“I-“ Klaus started, but then he stopped. Did he really want to go back? “I don’t know.” He admitted, to both Dave and himself. 

Dave looked up, looking slightly hopeful. It made something twist inside him, seeing how someone actually wanted him around. Was sad at the idea of Klaus leaving. 

“My dad’s dead, but my siblings are still assholes.” He continued, needing to get the words out. “They treat me like dirt, Vanya too. They think that I’m just some stupid junkie. Not like I’ve been proving them wrong.”

“Don’t think like that.” Dave said softly, cupping his cheek. “You are so much more than an addict. Your brave and strong and beautiful and they are idiots for not seeing it.” 

Klaus felt some tears fill his eyes and he blinked to make them disappear. “They don’t listen to me, belittle me. Hell I got kidnapped, long story, and they didn’t even notice. They probably don’t even know I’m gone now.”

That made him especially sad. Diego probably knew about his friend by now, which means that they knew he was taken. But Klaus knew that they wouldn’t care. That they would still be off too absorbed in their own selves to deal with him. 

“You don’t deserve that.” Dave whispered, suddenly sitting up and sitting in front of Klaus, his eyes hopeful. “Stay with me.” He blurted out. 

“Dave,” he said sadly, but cut himself off before he finished whatever thought that was turning into. 

“Just think about it Klaus! We can finish this tour and disappear into the mountains or the forest somewhere. Build a small little farm, a place for us to stay. No one would have to know, we could be together without the fear of being caught. Just you and me. No one to tell us we’re dirty, wrong, useless. Just you and me and the countryside, calm and beautiful and just for us.” Dave said, a smile on his lips. 

And _fuck,_ Klaus wanted that more than anything.

He wanted to live with Dave, be with Dave for the rest of his life. Eve if it meant not going home ever again. He could stay here and be happy. Hell, five more months and they could escape this hell. Screw off to some secluded place and be happy. 

He was happy with Dave. He could stay happy with Dave. His chest hurt while picturing it, the simple happy life they could live. It made him ache with _want_ and _need._

“Could we get a cat?” He asked quietly, a single tear running down his cheek. Dave laughed wetly, his thumb darting out to swipe the wetness away. 

“You can get how ever many cats as you want baby.” He said softly. “You can take in how ever many strays you want.”

“Bad idea, you’ll be overrun in no time.” Klaus responded seriously, Dave laughed touching their foreheads together.

“Is this a bad idea?” Dave asked, sounding slightly scared and worried about facing possible rejection.

Klaus smiled, because it really was. They were two queer men in the 60s, they would never truly be at peace. They could have their house, their cats, their peace. But they would still have to go out, they would still have to face the discrimination, the disgrace. 

Then a small seed planted in his mind, and Klaus had always been an idiot, but this might work. 

“Maybe,” He said slowly. “But I have an even worse idea.” 

Dave raised his eyebrows, stretching down beside Klaus and waving for him to continue on. 

“Come with me.” He said, turning to look down at him. “We’ll never be free here. We can get out house but we would still have to hide all the time. And I don’t want to Dave. I want to show the world how lucky I am to have you. So come with me instead.”

Klaus laughed, hope bubbling up inside his stomach. 

“We can take the briefcase and go back to 2019, we can be accepted there!” Klaus reached out, grabbing Dave’s hands. “Queer people still are pretty discriminated against, but we won’t be killed, shot or called criminals. We could get married, if that’s what we both want. We can get jobs, build a home, a family. Dave it could be perfect.” He rambled on. 

And Dave watched him, worrying his lips between his teeth. 

“But if you don’t want to we could stay.” Klaus sad, backtracking. It was stupid of him to say it, of course Dave wouldn’t want that. “Whatever you want.”

Klaus looked down, his hands fidgeting in his lap. 

Dave reached out, grabbing Klaus’s chin and forcing them to meet each others eyes. 

“Yes.” Dave said, smiling brightly. “I want to go to the future with you Klaus. Get out of this hell.”

Klaus smiled, reaching down and kissing him, their lips crashing and something ignited inside Klaus’s chest. 

Hope. Dreams. Belief that maybe life could get better than this, that maybe he could be happy. 

They would go to the future, far away form this bloody and painful war, and they could build a life. Klaus could get sober, fully sober. Because with Dave the ghosts were manageable. He would face anything for Dave. 

This was their happy ending. 

_______________________

A week later they stood together in their field, Klaus’s heart pumping and his mouth dry. 

The briefcase was in front of them, the handle clasped in both of their hands. Klaus double checked the little date indicator on the side, making sure it would take them back to the right time. 

“You ready love?” Dave asked softly, his thumb dating out to stroke Klaus’s hand. Klaus nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He reached up to play with the dog tags around his neck, Dave’s, before closing his eyes. This was it, this was what he had been looking forwards too. He looked down at the briefcase again, his fingers falling from his neck to rub it.

This stupid thing hadn’t worked for ages, he opened and closed it over and over again but it never worked. Why would it now?

He took a deep breath, pushing the button and unlatching it, his heart stuttering and then-

The blue light filled their vision and Klaus felt like he was folding into himself, his body getting shrunk and stretched out at the same time. He was disorientated, but he next thing he knew he was sitting on a bus, staring into Dave’s shocked eyes. 

Dave let out a breathy laugh, looking around with wonder in his eyes. 

“Oh my good god this actually worked.” Dave breathed out, laughing louder as he leaned forwards to capture Klaus’s lips once again. 

Klaus was overjoyed, his heart souring as he kissed Dave back, a grin splitting his lips. They were safe now. The horrors of war and homophobia long behind them. 

They tumbled out of the bus moments later, their hands clasped tightly together as Dave looked around the new world. 

“Cool huh?” Klaus said, grinning at the childlike wonder on his lover’s face. 

“It’s so different. I love it.” Dave said, turning towards Klaus, his face softening. “I love you.” 

Klaus smiled, pecking him on the lips slightly. 

“Where to now?” Dave asked and Klaus blinked. He hadn’t really thought about that. He was still kind of homeless at this point?

He could go to the academy, but his siblings would be there, ready to judge and yell and condensend. He couldn’t just let them wander around the streets though. They needed to clean off and get the dirt and blood off their clothes and skin. 

“The academy first. Then I’ll figure something out.” Klaus decided, not looking forwards to this trip. Dave gave him a small smile, knowing everything about why Klaus was hesitant. In the week they had before they left Klaus told him everything, all the dirty secrets him and his family had. 

And Dave was still here, still loved him.

They wandered down the streets, ignoring the stares they got. What a sight they must have been, two dirty and bloody men walking hand in hand down the street, one looking as if he had never seen anything in his life before. 

They reached the academy though, and Klaus was beyond grateful that none of his asshole siblings seemed to be around. They slipped upstairs, into the bathroom and Klaus started the tub. Dave was already stripping, not at all ashamed to be naked. 

Klaus admired the view for a moment as Dave stepped into the tub. 

“You going to join me?” Dave asked, his eyes half lidded as he relaxed into the luxury. 

“In a moment.” Klaus muttered, reaching out to start washing Dave’s hair. The man purred like a kitten at the contact, and Klaus smirked, digging his fingers into the man’s scalp to get all the grime out of it. 

Soon they were washed, standing in the bathroom and wondering what next. 

Klaus dragged Dave into his bedroom, shuffling through his closet for something acceptable that Dave would like. He settled on a simple pair of blue jeans, his only unripped ones, and a random band tee shirt that Luther gave him years ago. 

Klaus of course, chose to wear a brightly colored crop top and his signature leather jeans, throwing his combat jacket over top to complete the look. He turned around to find Dave staring at him, wonder and surprise written on his face. 

“You know, I really wish we had leather pants in the war now. We would have gotten together a hell of a lot quicker.” Dave said with a wink, and Klaus smiled, turning around and sashaying away, swinging his hips way more than needed. Dave chuckled behind him. 

“Your room looked just how I expected it too.” Dave commented, looking around at the mess he called home. The walls were covered in drawings and scribbled, clothes thrown everywhere, and small knick knacks scattered the remaining area. Dave leaned down, grabbing some random unicorn stuffy on the ground. Klaus wondered if that was the one with the drugs hidden in it. 

Dave continued to look around, marvelling at every little thing. 

Klaus sighed, fiddling with his dog tags and staring at his lover and just for a moment letting the immense relief wash over him. 

Their story could have gone in a completely different direction. If they stayed in that war one of them might have died, brutally and in front of the other. Klaus didn’t know how he would deal with that, with the loss of the only person he really cared about. 

“What the fuck.” A voice called out from behind him and Klaus turned to face a very confused Ben. 

“Hey bro, this is Dave. Dave, meet my dead brother who you can’t see.” Klaus said, gesturing between the two. Dave furrowed his eyebrow, looking confused but really used to just not questioning Klaus anymore. 

“Okay, cool. Where is he from? Why is he here? Why did you suddenly fall off the face of the earth for like, two days for no reason?” Ben asked, crossing his arms in the little brooding way he always did. 

“Oh, I went back to the Vietnam war. Stayed there for seven months, they convinced Dave to come back with me so we wouldn’t have to stay in the war and hide our relationship. So yeah that’s basically how my weeks been going.” Klaus narrated, grinning at Ben. 

“Jesus Christ.” Ben said, shaking his head. Klaus laughed, standing up to walk over to Dave, who was now inspecting a drawing. He wrapped his arms around his waist, and Dave pressed back against him, their bodied fitting together like a glove. 

“Klaus?” Someone asked and Klaus stepped back, turning to watch as Five walked in, his eyes darting to Dave with suspicion. “The world is ending and you brought a guy home?” 

“No brother dear, this is Dave. We came from the past. Honestly you guys need to keep up.” Klaus said, pecking Dave on the cheek. Dave was looking a tiny bit overwhelmed but Klaus knew he’d get over it.

“You went to the past!” Five said, grinning slightly. “And you brought someone back? Do you know how messed up the entire timeline can be now? You could have just triggered some huge ripple effect that could kill us all. Did you even think at all?” Five berated, his smile slipping into a frown. 

“Not even a little bit. Next question?” Klaus said.

“Did you at least bring back the briefcase?” Five said, his eyes narrowing. 

Klaus gestured to the bag in the corner, Five jumped over to get it, picking it up with a triumphant smile. 

“What are you going to do with that?” Klaus asked, slightly worried at the look in Five’s eyes. 

“I’m going to use it to lure Hazel and Cha-Cha into a trap.” Five muttered, already walking out the door. 

“You do that you funky little old man.” Klaus called out, waving goodbye for no real reason. 

“Well,” He said, turning back to Dave. “Two out of six siblings, not that bad. Where to next?”

 

____________________

 

Klaus made up his mind quickly. He didn’t want to stay in the Academy any longer, too afraid to see any of his less than accepting siblings. He didn’t think he would be able to deal with Luther or Diego interrogating him and belittling him. Or Allison’s concern that felt artificial. 

So he went to Vanya. 

He had been doing a lot of thinking lately, the war gave you plenty of time for that. And he was disappointed. 

Him and his siblings had treated her like dirt their entire lives. Thrown her aside, thought her weak because she wasn’t like them. But that wasn’t the truth at all. Vanya was better than all of them combined. Klaus had ignored that, too wrapped up in his own grief to realize what they were doing to her. 

The both of them were more alike that he thought. Deep down they only wanted love, affection, to belong and be accepted by their family. 

Klaus had finally got that, a beautiful lover by his side. Someone who trusted him and believed him and loved him the way he was, faults and all. Vanya deserved that too, and if he could maybe help her get even a little piece of that, then he would be content. 

He vaguely knew where her apartment was, a little run-down place a few blocks away. Dave and him wandered down the street, their hands firmly clasped together and Dave’s eye wandering everywhere. 

It felt amazing to hold Dave’s hand in public, to not worry about other people glaring at them, swearing at them and attacking them. Being in the future again gave him slight whiplash. 

They walked up the stairs, Klaus quickly finding the door he needed and knocking on it repetitively. 

“I don’t know where-“ Vanya started to yell, yanking open the door open and fading into silence once she saw Klaus. 

“Hey sis!” Klaus said, waving hello. “Do you mind if I come in?” He asked, pushing past her anyways. 

He looked around, Dave trailing in hesitantly, offering his hand for Vanya to shake like a gentlemen. 

“What are you doing here Klaus, I thought you and the rest of the family decided you didn’t want me after the attack?” Vanya said, sounding bitter. 

“Oh I have no part in that, I got kidnapped. But that’s bullshit either way. Can we talk alone for a bit? I have some things I need to say.” Klaus said, grinning and clapping his hands together. Vanya opened her mouth to reply when another man walked in, watching Klaus suspiciously. 

A large ghost followed him, multiple stab wounds to his face and torso. Klaus let his eyes hover for a second. A second, smaller ghost followed, a petite Asian lady who looked pretty pissed. 

“Who is this Vanya?” The man said, walking up to his sister and looking suspicious. 

“This is my brother, Klaus. And his, well I don’t really know who the other is.” Vanya introduced, narrowing her eyes at Dave, who shifted. 

“This is Dave, we met in the past but that’s a long story I don’t want to explain again. And you are?” He asked the man, smiling brightly. There was something off about the dude, a vibe he gave off that made Klaus’s stomach turn. 

“Lenard,” Vanya said with a smile. “My boyfriend.” 

“That’s not his name.” The ghost hissed, drawing Klaus’s attention. “His name is Harold Jenkins. He killed me, the little prick was always useless.” 

“He killed me too.” The woman chimed in. “So that Vanya would get my place in first chair.”

Klaus raised his eyebrows, he would unpack that all later. But the protective urge to get Vanya away from this man growing. 

“Coolio, nice to meet you.” He forced out, trying his best not to assume things. “So Vanya, sibling to sibling talk? Won’t be long. The boyfriends can bond out here in the meantime.” He said, glancing at Dave, who looked like he really didn’t want to spend time with this creep. Klaus gave him a sympathetic wince but really this was needed. 

“I-I guess, but make it short okay? Leonard and I wanted to go out for a walk.” Vanya said, following Klaus into the bedroom area of the house

“What do you want to say to me?” Vanya asked, a little colder and mean than Klaus was expecting. 

“I’ll get to that. First tell me about what the rest of the academy of assholes said to you.” He said, sitting on her bed and gesturing for her to talk. 

Vanya bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. “Diego told me to screw off, that I could have been hurt in the fight. That I was useless.”

Klaus felt a bolt of anger towards Diego in that moment, knowing what that felt like. To be told that they could have injured themselves or others with their so-called stupidity. 

“Well, he isn’t wrong.” Klaus started, quick to continue when Vanya glared at him and there was an odd shift in the air. “But that’s the way for all of us! Hell, I got pretty hurt there, and I could have hurt the others too. You’re not useless Vanya, Diego was just scared. He cares about you, he just doesn’t know how to show it.”

Vanya stayed quiet for a long moment. 

“All of you were like that though. Rubbing in the fact that I had no powers, that I was nothing compared to you. All of you ignored me. Even you Klaus, so don’t pretend that your better than them or anything.” Vanya said, tears forming in her eyes. 

Klaus stood up, ignoring the ache in his heart as he stepped closer to his sister, who although being the same age as him, seemed so much younger. 

“I was a mess.” Klaus started slowly, averting her eyes momentarily to look at Ben, who gave him a thumbs up. “I was horrible to you as a child because I was so caught up in my own mistakes. It’s no excuse, I know that much. It was stupid and idiotic of me to treat you the way I did. And that’s why I’m here now. To make amends, to fix what’s gone wrong. You deserve better Vanya, you really do.” Klaus looked away again, not able to stand looking into his sisters’ watery eyes. 

“Why are you saying all of this?” She whispered, as if she didn’t trust him. Klaus figured she didn’t really have that much of a reason to. 

“Because I know what it’s like to be ignored, have your thoughts and opinions invalidated because of something you can’t help. I know what it’s like to be bitter and afraid.” He admitted, fidgeting slightly. 

“Are you high right now?” She asked him suspiciously, suddenly bitter. 

“No!” He protested immediately. “I’m mostly sober. I’m going cold turkey.” He admitted, surprised when Vanya walked forwards and hugged him, her arms wrapping tightly around his middle. 

“I’m proud of you.” She whispered, and his heart broke a little at the trust. If he told anyone else that they would think that it was just an empty promise, nothing to be acted on. But Vanya believed him, never doubted him. He hugged her back. 

“I’m proud of you too, I love you sis.” He whispered, squeezing her a bit tighter. “Now, I know you had plans and all that jazz, but will you please come home with me? I think it’s time we had a family meeting don’t you?” He said with a bright smile, pulling back. 

“You want me there?” She asked, hesitant and sounding awfully small. 

“Of course,” He said with a laugh. “Your family.” 

Vanya’s answering smile was worth it all in the end.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be the last one but I decided what the hell I want to write more. Also, yes I made Patch live because Diego deserves happiness too.

Vanya, Dave and him arrived home shortly after their discussion, Lenard claiming he had other things to do and refusing to join them, which Klaus was glad about. He was itching to tell Vanya about the people Lenard, or Harold maybe, had killed. But he figured that might be a topic the wanted to ease into. Going out and declaring the man she loved a murderer wouldn’t end up well. 

Vanya and Dave got along surprisingly well. The two of them chatted nicely, Dave asking Vanya about her violin and her newest role as the first chair. Klaus watched them, skipping along and hiding the churn inside his stomach. He was craving the release of drugs, but all he had to do now was look at Dave and remember his promise, the people he had to look out for now. 

When they got home Dave pulled him aside, his touch warm on his arm. 

“I think I’m going to go to bed darling.” He whispered, kissing Klaus forehead softly. “It’s been a long day and I don’t think I can deal with meeting any more siblings.”

Klaus laughed, kissing his cheek and patting it. “Go ahead doll, I get it. I’ll join you in a bit okay? You remember where my room is?” He asked, smiling when Dave nodded. 

Dave quickly walked off and Klaus ignored the feeling in his chest that told him to stay with Dave. The two of them had been joined at the hip for the past seven months, Klaus didn’t want it to end. He wasn’t used to Dave being out of his sight for anything other than solo missions. 

He turned to saunter back over to Vanya, who was smirking at him. 

“You’ve fallen hard haven’t you?” She teased, poking his arm. He gasped in fake surprise, tumbling onto the couch and putting his feet on top of couch. 

“Maybe.” He admitted cheerfully, winking at Vanya. “But have you seen him?”

Vanya laughed, picking up Klaus’s feet so she could sit down. He simply moved them until they sat in her lap. She rolled her eyes but didn’t protest. It was odd, the new air around them. They had never been that close as siblings, their personalities clashing and Klaus was too caught up with his own angst to pay attention to any of his siblings. But now, he wasn’t sure what they were. The uneasy truce lingered around them, and Klaus wanted to keep it that way.

“How did you two meet again?” She asked, and Klaus shrugged. 

“Well, after getting kidnapped and tortured I escaped and used one of the suitcase thingy’s and it brought me back in time to the Vietnam war. Dave was soldiering there. I spend a fair number of months there until we escaped and came here.” He summed up. 

“You fought in the war?” She asked in disbelief. 

“Yup,” He said popping the p. “Wasn’t that much fun.” 

“No shit.” She said with a soft laugh. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here I guess. I can try my best.” She offered shyly.

“Thanks.” He replied softly, his heart warming at the gesture. He didn’t want to think about it yet. The ghosts, the blood, the horrors that surrounded him, the screams that made it hard to hear. “Tell me about Lenard.” He prodded. 

Vanya smiled. “He’s great, he doesn’t care that I’m only me. He thinks I’m special and wonderful and he believes in me. I’ve only known him for a week, but I think I really like him.” She said, a fond smile on her face. 

“Can I say something a bit out of line here?” He asked carefully, sitting up and facing her. She frowned but nodded. “Okay, so when I first met him I saw something that isn’t good. And I don’t want to jump to conclusions because he sounds wonderful and you deserve someone who knows how awesome you are, but there were two ghost following him.”

Vanya frowned, about to speak but Klaus continued. “They both claimed he killed them. One of them said it was to help you get the spot in first chair.” 

The room was silent for a long moment. 

“What do you mean? I got that spot fairly.” She said, sounding heated. “And Lenard wouldn’t do something like that.”

“I get it!” He said, raising up his hands in a placating gesture. “The woman, she was Asian, pretty, black hair and nice eyes. Gave me a bit of a bitchy vibe. The older man said that his name was actually Harold Jenkins, so maybe they're just confused. Or maybe he has an evil twin or something out there. I just felt like you needed to know. I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything.” 

The air around them was shifting, rippling as Vanya frowned at him. Then his sister deflated and the weird power thrumming around them faded. Klaus pushed it to the back of his mind.

“He wouldn’t, but your description matches up to Helen.” Vanya admitted, trailing off and blinking rapidly. 

“We’ll look into it okay?” He said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “If it makes any of this any better, I hope I’m wrong about this.” 

Vanya nodded, swiping under her eyes. 

“I think I’m going to go to bed. It’s late and I’m tired. We can talk more tomorrow?” She said, smiling weakly at him. 

“Okay, I’m going to retire too. Time travel is exhausting.” Klaus said, finally allowing a bit of the pure exhaustion set into his bones. It felt like someone was building a house inside his mind, the constant pounding making him urn for the numbness of some sort of substance. For now, his warm comfy bed beside Dave sounded wonderful. 

He walked upstairs, quietly walking into his room and watching Dave sleep. He looked so peaceful, so calm and content that it made Klaus’s heart warm. He quickly stripped, tugging on some sleep wear before crawling in beside Dave, who muttered sleepily and wrapped his arms around him, kissing his temple. 

“Good night love.” Klaus muttered, his eyes fluttering shut. 

He was happy, content. He had Dave beside him, had started to fix the mistakes he made, and maybe this would all work out. Maybe he could have the happy life he wanted. 

________________________

 

Klaus woke up a couple hours later, Dave thrashing and whimpering beside him. He blinked through the haze, fear taking over as he quickly tried to shake his lover awake. 

“Wake up Dave.” He whispered, shaking him a bit harder. “It’s okay, it’s only a dream baby I promise.” 

He continued to whisper to him, slowly pulling his lover from whatever horrors laid under his eyelids. After a minute or two Dave was awake, searching the area until he found Klaus’s eyes. They sat there for a moment before Dave launched himself into Klaus’s arms, sobbing slightly. 

Klaus held on tightly, muttering reassurances into his ear and rubbing his back. This wasn’t anything new. Normally it was Klaus who had these breakdowns and nightmares, but Dave got them sometimes too. Either way, both of them were well taught in the lesson of comforting the other. After ten minutes Dave started to calm down, muttering sorry as he pulled back. 

“Don’t be sorry sweetheart, you want to talk about it?” Klaus said softly, one hand still laying on Dave’s arm and the other cupping his cheek.

Dave shook his head and Klaus nodded his understanding. Sometimes talking made it more real. Made the dreams cross the line and enter real life.

“You want to go get some hot chocolate?” He offered instead, and Dave’s eyes lit up as he nodded enthusiastically. Klaus remembered the stories Dave told him about the sweet drink his mom used to make him when he was scared. 

Klaus grabbed his hand, quickly grabbing them both sweatshirts, the academy was fucking _freezing_ , and they quickly left. Scuttling down the stairs and whispering like two teenagers trying to sneak out for the first time.

They made their way to the kitchen, Klaus grabbing a pot and trying to put some milk inside. His hands were still shaking slightly from exhaustion and he mostly failed. 

“Do you want some help honey?” A musical voice said, startling both Dave and him. Klaus turned to see his mom standing in the doorway, smiling warmly at the two of them. “Did I startle you? I’m sorry about that. I simply noticed you and your guest leave the room and wanted to see if you needed anything.” 

Klaus nodded, “I would love that mom. Dave and I would like some hot chocolate if you don’t mind.” 

He always had a soft spot for their mom, not like Diego did, but he loved her. As much as he could love a robot that raised him. He sat beside Dave, their limbs intertwining for comfort. Dave was always a very tactile person, he loved to always be touching Klaus, holding his hand, rubbing their shoulders together, stuff like that. Klaus lived for it. After years of the only comfort being random people in clubs the act of being softly touched and loved was special to him. 

They were incredibly touchy after a bad dream. Dave wouldn’t even let Klaus move five feet away when he was really distressed. His hands grasping at Klaus’s arm and squeezing as if to remind himself that he was here with him. When Klaus got flashbacks at first he didn’t like being touched, moments when he had trouble figuring out what was real and alive and what was dead and wanting to harm him. But after that passed by he would cling onto Dave, making sure that the man was alive and real. 

So Dave and him sat there in silence, their legs tangled under the table and Dave with an arm around Klaus. Grace stood at the stove, stirring the chocolate and milk in the pot, humming a song absent mindedly. 

There was a soft thump from outside the kitchen door and Diego stumbled in, half asleep and rubbing his eyes. “Mom? What are you doing up?” He said, yawning. 

“Our fault.” Klaus said sheepishly, smirking when Diego jumped when he noticed the two men sitting in the dark. “She offered to make hot chocolate so I wouldn’t have to burn the house down.” 

Dave chuckled, kicking Klaus slightly and Klaus vaguely remembered himself burning down one of their tents back in their fourth month after he fell asleep smoking a cigarette. Their commander never let him live that down. 

“Who the hell is this Klaus? And when did you get back here?” Diego said, and Klaus watched as his hand subtly went down to his hip to grab a knife. He didn’t have to be so paranoid all the time, jeez if Diego just loosened up once in a while. 

“Dave, this is Diego, probably one of the more tolerable of my siblings when he’s not moody as hell.” Klaus said, glancing over at his lover, who smiled up at Diego and stood up. 

Dave offered his hand, and Klaus groaned at the loss of heat and spread out, throwing up his hands at annoying brothers and overly polite lovers. 

Diego stared at the hand for a long moment, and Klaus laughed at the look Diego was giving Dave, like his hand was going to reach out and bite him or something. 

“Hot chocolates ready! Grace chimed out, turning around with the three mugs, adorned with whipped cream and cinnamon in the form of a smiley face. Klaus smiled at her, patting her arm in thanks as she put it down. 

“Goodness, we’re all up tonight aren’t we?” She said while handing the last mug to Diego. “Well boys, I’m going to go recharge, don’t stay up too late okay?” 

Then she was walking away, Diego looking like she wanted to follow her, but deciding not to. 

“I’m not going to question,” Diego paused for a moment, gesturing between the two of them. “this. But we’re having a meeting tomorrow and I need to get to the hospital.” Diego sighed. 

“Why do you need to go to the hospital, is everything okay?” Dave asked, looking concerned. 

“My friend got shot recently, she lived but is in urgent care so I’m going to visit her in case she wakes up.” Diego said, leaving immediately after without waiting for a response. 

Klaus let the relief fill him. He had thought that the detective had died, he heard the gunshot and knew it wasn’t from her but he couldn’t turn back at the time. To hear that he didn’t kill her while escaping took a huge weight off his shoulders. 

Dave walked back to him, sipping the drink carefully. 

“This is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.” Dave said and Klaus nodded. 

“So good.” He said with a slight moan, smirking at the way Dave’s entire face went red at the noise. 

“Screw off.” Dave muttered, and Klaus laughed, leaning over to put a small dot of whipped cream on his nose. Dave smirked, taking a bunch of whipped cream and dabbing it all over Klaus face. Klaus tried to get away, Dave chasing him with a laugh. He caught Klaus’s arm, twirling him around and quickly kissing his softly. Taking a cloth and wiping the cream off. 

Klaus smiled against his lips, melting into the embrace. 

“Ew.” Ben said from somewhere behind them, and Klaus flipped him off promptly. The boy better get used to it. 

____________________________________

The next morning Klaus forced Dave to follow him into the family meeting, declaring that he might as well meet the rest of the bitch squad. 

“I don’t know why you don’t want to meet them.” Klaus said as they ambled downstairs. 

“I got to say, you calling them the ‘bitch squad’ doesn’t really make the meeting more enticing.” Dave deadpanned, and Klaus punched his shoulder lightly. 

“They’ll love you.” He tried. 

“Sure.” Dave snorted. “It seems like the only sane one is Vanya.” 

“What about me?” Ben grumbled from behind them. 

“What about Ben?” Klaus parroted. 

“Ben has apparently decided to follow you around for all of eternity. Seems like something only a crazy person would willingly do.” Dave said with a shrug, which made Ben laugh so honestly screw them both. 

“You are the one who agreed to run away with me and spend our lives together.” Klaus pointed out. 

“Well, I never said I was sane.” Dave said with a wink, kissing Klaus’s cheek, his hand reaching out to finger the chain of the dog tags around Klaus’s neck. Klaus quickly threw an arm around his shoulders, resuming their walk down to the living room. 

He took a deep breath, preparing himself to deal with his siblings. He wasn’t sure what was going on, how this would play out but he had an inkling. 

“Klaus this is a family meeting.” Luther said sharply, and really that was what he was expecting. Dave immediately looked uncomfortable, taking in all of Luther. “Not a meeting where you can bring in whatever man you picked up off the streets.”

Dave looked ready to fight after that comment, but Klaus shot him a look.

“Pretend he isn’t here, this shouldn’t take to long. And also, please refrain to referring to Dave like that.” Klaus said, collapsing onto the couch, Dave moving to stand behind him, his large hand resting comfortingly on Klaus’s shoulder. 

“Dear god Klaus, this is important.” Luther stressed, and Klaus rolled his eyes. 

“And so is he, so shut your hairy mouth.” He retorted, and Luther looked ready to argue further but Allison stepped forwards and placed a calming hand on Luther’s arm. He looked at her and immediately calmed down. 

Dave’s hand was squeezing a bit harder than necessary, but Klaus ignored it. 

Everyone but Vanya was there, even Diego had returned from his visit to the hospital. Klaus knew his sister would arrive soon though, if not he would go fetch her.

Sure enough, she filled in literally moments after, looking slightly scared but determined. 

“What are you doing here?” Diego asked sharply. “I thought I told you it was too dangerous for you here.” 

Vanya opened her mouth then closed it, retreating into herself slightly. 

“It’s a family.” Klaus said softly, quiet and serious for the first time in a while as he threw Luther’s words back at them. All his siblings went quiet immediately, probably not ready for the seriousness he radiated. Honestly he hadn’t expected it either. But now that he was thinking and actually seeing how they treated their own sister, it made something turn inside of him. 

“This is very important, it’s not something to be taken lightly.” Luther said softly. “We don’t want her getting caught up in it.” 

“It’s a family meeting.” Klaus repeated. “And she’s family. She deserves to be here just as much as the rest of us.” 

There was silence that followed, none of the siblings wanting to disagree with that. 

“Where’s Five?” Allison said after a moment, and Vanya relaxed, immediately sitting next to Klaus and smiling at him in thanks, he winked at her in return. 

“I don’t know, he disappeared right before we were suppose to meet up with those two people that attacked us. He grabbed the newspaper and told me to go home and wait for him. Who knows what the little guy is up to. But all I know is that he claims the apocalypse is coming soon.” Luther said.

“Should’ve taken us a few years back, sorry.” Klaus whispered up to Dave, who was looking quite confused and worried about this all.

“How do we stop it?” Vanya asked, and Five chose the perfect moment to suddenly jump into the conversation, appearing on top of the bar, standing proudly with the newspaper held over his head. 

“The answer to that sister dear, is that it’s already been stopped.” He said smugly, and Klaus applauded him sarcastically. 

“How do you know?” Diego asked, stepping forwards. 

“Newspaper, the headline has changed since the day I found it when I jumped to the future. That means somehow we have managed to alter the timeline enough to divert the apocalypse from happening.” Five said, tossing the newspaper down, joy in his eyes. 

“That doesn’t mean anything though right? That can’t be solid proof.” Diego argued. 

But Five apparently wasn’t done yet. 

“I know that, but I managed to intercept a message from the commission, it said one thing. Protect Harold Jenkins.” Five said. 

Klaus immediately looked over to Vanya, who gazed back with equally wide eyes. 

“Lenard,” She whispered. “No, that can’t be right.” She protested. Klaus reached out, pulling her into a half hug. 

“I promised you we’d look into it right Vanya? We’ll go do some research and find out why your boyfriend might cause the end of the world.” He comforted her, somehow managing to say that without any concern to how odd that sounded. 

“Did it already,” Five cut in again, pulling out a police file and handing it her softly. “Harold Jenkins, or Lenard Peabody, killed his abusive father at a young age. Was imprisoned for life. I also checked out his home, because that really didn’t mean that much. But I found another body, that’s her.” He pointed to a picture of a young woman, the ghost that had been following Lenard around yesterday. 

“That’s the girl I told you about yesterday, the one I saw.” Klaus muttered looking over at her sister, who looked confused and had tears in her eyes. 

“Oh my god,” She whispered. 

“It gets worse,” Five said, softly and not brass and assholeish like he normally is. “He had figurines of us all, our faces burnt off. He clearly was trying to instigate something. I confronted him and he panicked and ran, I didn’t bother chasing him but I followed his car for a while. He left town almost immediately.” 

Vanya sobbed, a tear leaking out of her eye. Klaus held her close, petting her hair and whispering words into her hair. 

She calmed down after a moment. 

“He was using me,” She whispered. “He told me I was special, extra ordinary, but he was lying just to get revenge wasn’t he? Nothing he said was true.” 

She broke down again, and Allison joined them, rubbing her back in a calming way. 

“Don’t say that, your plenty special. He’s just an asshole okay? You deserve someone who sees your amazingness and isn’t lying about it. He’s just blind.” Allison comforted, and Vanya leaned into her, Klaus backing off slightly. 

He watched Vanya cry in Allison’s arm, and felt an urge to go find this Lenard man and deck him, or murder him, whatever came first. 

Ten minutes later, they had all calmed down, Vanya sitting up and leaning against Allison, who was promising to fix everything. 

“So what now?” Diego asked, breaking the silence. 

“Well, I’m going to go out, since the world is no longer in danger and I’m not needed.” Klaus announced, standing up to stretch. 

“Hey, sit down Klaus, we’re not done here. We don’t know for sure what Harold’s move was, we still need to stop him.” Luther said, and Klaus sighed. 

“Look, if everything I heard is correct, whatever was going to happen has passed and we’re safe for now. There’s not much I can do. So I’m going to go out and do things while you all worry yourselves sick about something stupid.” He said, sighing and leaning down to pat Vanya’s hand. “I’m sorry about the boy sis, I’m here if you need to talk.” Vanya smiled up at him, understanding shining in her eyes.

He turned again, ready to leave when Luther spoke up again. Because apparently he didn’t know when to just shut his mouth and let Klaus live his life.

“You can’t just run away again Klaus, it’s time for you to stop being a coward and just step up and do what’s right.” Luther said bitterly, and Klaus turned to retort but was cut off. 

“Don’t call him a coward.” Dave said softly, glaring daggers at Luther, who looked slightly taken aback. 

“You don’t-“ Luther started again, but Dave cut in once again. 

“Klaus is the bravest man I know.” He said, and Klaus felt himself swoon just a little bit. “I fought beside him and he never once backed down even when the fight seemed pointless. Hell, I’ve lost count of how many times he’s saved my life.” 

“Eight and counting.” Klaus muttered softly, and Ben shot him a look from where he stood, Dave simply ignored him. 

“So don’t call him a coward for finally wanting a moment of peace okay? He’s been through hell and none of you bothered to say anything about it. So shove your coward nonsense up your ass. He’s done his part.” Dave hissed, finishing his rant off. 

The room was silent, shocked by Dave’s random outburst of defense. Klaus walked up beside him, grasping his hand and ready to pull him away from this mess. 

He wouldn’t lie to himself, hearing his siblings talk about him like that hurt, but it was soothed over by the pure love for the man beside him. It was weird to have someone by his side, fighting for him and defending him. He hadn’t really had that before. 

“This is a family matter,” Luther tried to say, unwilling to just let it go for once in his life. 

“He is family.” Klaus cut in, raising his chin and ignoring the looks he got. Well, he was waiting for this particular moment but hey, no better time than the present. He raised up their clasped hands, smiling widely. “I got hitched bitches.” 

The silence was deafening. 

“Well good talk imma go now.” Klaus said, quickly turning and dragging Dave away, terrified of his siblings’ reactions. His siblings had been more or less accepting of him, but he didn’t want to risk it. Especially not after just escaping one of the most homophobic times in all of history. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard someone following them.

“Klaus!” Allison cried after him, running out and launching into his arms. “I’m so proud of you.” She squealed, pulling back. 

“Do you guys have a ring? Tell me the entire story.” She asked, positively glowing with happiness. Klaus blinked, not expecting this type of reaction. 

“No ring, kind of hard to find them in the middle of the Vietnam war, but I have his dog tags and he has my really old ring that I stole off of an old lady when I was sixteen.” He explained. 

“Wait you told me it was a family antique.” Dave protested, and Klaus smiled at him. 

“Of course it is darling. Just not my families.” He said kissing his cheek. 

“Oh my god you guys are adorable. Have you planned a wedding yet? Do you need help planning one?” Allison continued. 

“We’ve been in the future for a day Allison, we weren’t planning past actually getting out of that hell alive.” Klaus laughed, and really it was true. When they promised to go to the future and Dave asked him to marry him, well that was it. They were too focused on surviving the last few days and getting to 2019 safely. 

He remembered the night it all happened, a few days before they left. Dave had softly asked him if they were allowed to get married in the future, and Klaus told him they could. So Dave got down on one knee right there in the field, his clothes still caked with mud and blood but his eyes were open and sincere as he looked up at Klaus and asked if they could spend their lives together officially. Klaus had a feeling he would never forget that moment.

Footsteps came towards then and Allison frowned, “You two should go before one of the boys comes out and starts grilling you both.” She warned, smiling and patting Dave’s hand affectionately. “You hurt my brother and I will make sure they never find your body okay?” She said sweetly before walking away. 

“She seems nice.” Dave sad dryly, turning to grin at Klaus. Klaus smiled, reaching up and kissing him. 

“Get a room.” Ben said from behind then and Klaus broke away from them. 

“Come on darling, let’s go experience the future.” He said softly, looking into Dave’s bright blue eyes and wondering why he got so lucky. 

They ran out the door, laughing and joking as they ran towards the future they had mapped out together.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to only be about him and Dave but now it's mostly him and Vanya and I have zero regrets. Let me know what you all think!


End file.
